One less Problem without You
A/N- I wanted to get this done before the season 3 premiere, and I didn't because I suck. Anyway, this chapter is FULL of angst! But it will get better! (What kind of story would it be if it didn't?)
Prologue
She was seventeen, she had been friends with Octavia for ten years now. Octavia's parents and her own had gotten together and decided that they were old enough to start attending the summer camp that Octavia's brother, Bellamy, had been going to for the last five years.
Bellamy was four years older than them, he was tall and dark and handsome and smelled like trees and bonfires and man. He had dark curly hair that was down to his eyes which were big and brown and that made Clarke's stomach do things that it shouldn't be doing for Bellamy Blake, but he was also Octavia' brother, and Octavia's brother was nurturing, sarcastic, asshole.
The Skybox was the best summer camp in the entire world. It was in the middle of a National Forest, surrounded by trees. It had a lake and a zip line and a mess hall and twelve cabins for the boys and twelve cabins for the girls, as well as cabins for the counselors. The management were the nicest people you would probably ever meet. They were eager to help any of the campers, as most of them had been campers at some point.
Clarke and Octavia had been friends ever since a boy at school made Octavia cry because her family was poor and she was having to move to a smaller house because they couldn't afford theirs, and Clarke got suspended for punching him in the throat. They had stuck by each other's sides ever since.
They went to camp together, Clarke was there whenever Bellamy found Octavia and Atom behind the bleachers at the football game and gave Atom a black eye. Clarke was there whenever Aurora Blake had her accident, she was also there for the horrifying weeks that followed, but she didn't like to think about it.
Octavia was there whenever Wells moved away. She was there whenever Clarke's parents got divorced. She was there to make fun of her when Clarke started liking Bellamy.
They were both there for that dreadful summer that Clarke's parents decided they didn't like her hanging out with Octavia anymore.
But now, they're both here, at the SkyBox, finally. After five years of asking to go with Bellamy but they were too young. But Bellamy's a councilor now, so he will be able to watch over you. Yeah, because Bellamy will be one hundred percent watch over them and not stare at the other (female) councilors asses the whole time, sure.
Clarke and Octavia got placed in the same cabin, with a girl named Monroe as their Councilor. Octavia had met her before, she said that Monroe is really nice and pretty and always wears her hair in the same style, and it's super elaborate and pretty. She's tried recreating it a thousand times, but could never get it right, but Clarke has always been the one who's good with things like that.
Clarke has her bags packed, she stayed at Octavia's last night, wanting to carpool (Also, Clarke's mom wouldn't drive her.) She was woken up by someone, she guessed Bellamy, banging on Octavia's bedroom door like it was the end of the world.
"I'm going to punch him in the dick so hard, he chokes on his nuts."
Clarke sat up groggily, rubbing at her eyes that were still filled with sleep "Thank you for that wonderful image you just painted me, it's like I'm friends with Norman Rockwell.
She looked at Octavia's ancient alarm clock next to the bed, it was only five thirty, "O, why would your brother be getting us up at five in the morning?"
Clarke heard some grumbles coming from what she assumed was Octavia's head.
The door opened and in walked Bellamy, in a pair of blue jeans and his bright blue councilor t-shirt, "Clarke, would you mind awakening the beast so we can get going, I don't need to be late today." And with an eye roll that could challenge some of Octavia's, he walked out, slamming the door behind him.
"I repeat my earlier statement, I am going to punch him-"Clarke hit her with a pillow.
An hour later, they were loaded into Bellamy's old truck with all of their bags, bouncing with anticipation, or in Octavia's case, passed out against the window with her legs across Clarkes lap and her toes in Bellamy's. Bellamy was driving and was focused on the road, so Clarke put in her headphones and tried to drown out the world.
Clarke was woken up by someone tapping her shoulder, her head on Bellamy's shoulder and Octavia bouncing in her seat next to her. Clarke sat up straight and looked ahead as Bellamy and Octavia started to get out of the truck.
A gruff voice came from outside of the truck "Have a nice nap, Princess?"
She stretched her arms above her high and let out a high-pitched moan of agreement. She heard a chuckle followed by Octavia coming back to the door and grabbed one of Clarke's bags, "O, stop, you don't have to do that."
"Yes I do, it's called 'being a friend'. It's a pretty useful skill." She raised an eyebrow and skipped away, laughing manically.
Clarke rubbed her palms against her eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them. She turned to find Bellamy leaning against the doorframe, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. She let her head fall back against the headrest, "What."
He chuckled and pushed off the truck, "You drool when you sleep."
She scoffed and jumped out of the car, hearing the truck door slam shut as she ran to catch up with Octavia.
"You're brothers a jerk."
"You say that like I don't already know this." She laughed.
They were placed in cabin four and stopped by to drop their bags, which was when they met Monroe.
She was sitting on the biggest bed, one leg hanging off the side. Her face instantly brightened whenever Clarke and Octavia opened the door.
She jumped off the bed and ran across the room to meet them with hugs. "Hi! My name's Monroe! I already know Octavia, and I'm guessing you're Clarke!" She had one of the brightest smiles that Clarke had ever seen.
"Yeah, that's me! So is there any certain bed that we have to take or…?"
"No! I've already taken this one though, but you can have any of the others. There should be one other girl that's coming, but she won't be here for another few weeks."
Clarke and Octavia walked over to the same bunk bed, Octavia taking the top bunk, Clarke the bottom bunk. Octavia threw her bag up onto the bed and immediately started jumping up and down "Come on Clarke! They have a meet and greet all day today and then dinner and then a bonfire! We gotta hurry!"
She grabbed Clarkes hand and started running out of the room, dragging Clarke behind her.
On the way, they passed many people of all ages. There was a wolf-whistle thrown their way, which was closely followed by Bellamy's head snapping to attention. Clarke rolled her eyes.
The meet and greet was held in the activity center, which was basically just a giant pavilion roof with a bunch of tables and ovens and anything else someone might need at a summer camp.
Octavia was a social butterfly, and went bouncing from group to group of people, introducing herself and dragging Clarke along with her.
They met two boys that were the same age as Clarke and Octavia and that Clarke thought were pretty funny. Okay, one had a pair of thick black goggles on his head, which was weird, and they absolutely reeked of, uh, medicinal agents, but they were funny, and nice. Their names were Jasper and Monty.
They met a girl named Charlotte that was a few years younger than them, but that Octavia loved because 'she's like I was when we were that age.'
And then they met Finn. He was seventeen years old with amazing hair and he was super funny and cute, and it was weird for Octavia, because Clarke had only ever liked Bellamy and girls, and Finn didn't fall under either of those categories, but Clarke seemed to fall for him the moment she set eyes on him.
They ended up sitting at a table with Jasper and Monty, talking about their home towns, and about how Octavia's brother was the head councilor, and how Clarke had liked him forever (Clarke was sure she very similarly resembled a tomato at this point, and decided to have a conversation with Octavia about talking to strangers about this particular subject later.)
When the bell over the dining hall rang, they all got up and walked over, Jasper promising to show them the lake and the good hiding spots in the forest, he had been coming to camp for two years, Monty for one.
Dinner was pizza and chips, they sat with Jasper and Monty again, this time Bellamy tagging along as well, asking them about who'd they met, and Jasper and Monty giving Clarke sly glances that only her and Octavia could see. At one point, Monty mimed a finger going through a hole, and Octavia started choking on her soda so much that she had to get up and cough(laugh) it off. Bellamy sending a confused expression after her.
After dinner was the bonfire, which was s'mores and laughter and playing hot potato with hot coals and Finn sitting next to Clarke.
At nine thirty, Thelonious Jaha, the camps founder, got up on the podium to speak.
"May I have your attention please?! Okay, so this year, we're starting a new tradition." He broke off at all of the confused whispers, "Settle, settle! Okay, now, as I was saying, this year, we're going to have teams! We will have five teams that will compete in all sorts of competitions! Volleyball, tracking, canoeing, kickball, and a lot of others!
The team captains are as follows, Monroe, Roma, Steven, James, and Bellamy."
At the mention of Bellamy, Octavia and Clarke's gazes snapped to each other. He hadn't told them that.
"Now, they drew straws earlier, and James gets to pick first."
"Charlotte."
"Now it's Roma's turn."
"Lucas."
"Blake"
"Clarke."
Clarke's head snapped up, she was fully expecting him to choose Octavia first, and from the looks of things, everyone was too, including himself. He looked like he'd just swallowed a sour
It ended up with Bellamy's team consisting of Clarke, Octavia, Monty, Jasper, Finn, a kid from Octavia and Clarkes town named Wells, and Raven, whenever she showed up.
Octavia went straight to the cabin after the choosing. And Clarke knew to give her time, so she did something stupid, she went on a walk with Finn.
They had been walking in silence for a while when Finn nudged her shoulder, "So, you and Bellamy, huh?"
She laughed, "No. He's never thought of me as anything other than a sister. He and Octavia had an argument before we left today, he's probably just still aggravated about it."
He hummed in recognition and they walked in silence again, "Do you know what they argued about? Jus- Just curious." He mumbled.
She thought for a few seconds, "You know, I don't think that O ever actually told me, I'll have to ask her later." He nodded and they finished the rest of their trek in relative silence.
They got back to Octavia and Clarke's cabin and she made to open the door, but he grabbed her arm. "Clarke?"
She stepped away from the door, "Yea? What's up?"
He looked at his shoes, "Are you sure there's nothing going on between you and Bellamy?"
She rolled her eyes, "God, Finn. Yes, I'm sure. There isn't now and there probably never will be. Not that that's m-" she was cut off by Finn wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to him, crushing their lips together.
"So, how was it?"
"Octavia!" she moaned.
"What? I'm you're best friend! It's mandatory that you tell me! It's like, the law of being best friends." Clarke rolled her eyes and walked over to her bunk and flopped down.
"So?" Octavia asked hesitantly.
Clarke sighed, "It was….." She really wanted to tell Octavia the truth. That it was not as good as she'd hoped it'd be. It kind of…. Sucked. It was sloppy and he tried to do things that Clarke was sure some other girl might like, but she certainly did not. "Great." She finished brightly.
"Ouch. That bad?" She snapped her eyes to Octavia. "Come on Clarke, give me some credit! I've been you're best friend forever, I know when you're lying."
"Well, a lot of peoples first kisses suck! I'm not going to stop whatever we might become just because of a shitty first kiss."
She saw Octavia give her a 'yea, okay honey' look out of the corner of her eye and shrugged it off. It was fine. She was sure that they'd get better with practice. Most people did, right? Clarke had never had a kiss before that was perfect the first time.
Her first kiss with Wells was nowhere near perfect. It was mainly just awkward. It wasn't horrible. Just weird, but all in all it was okay.
Clarke decided to just shrug it all off as an overreaction, and tried to sleep. It came eventually, but it wasn't restful.
"Okay! I'm Bellamy, you're team leader, and since, um. Since Clarke was picked first, she- uh- she's my co-leader." He ran a hand through his hair. Clarke dared a look at Octavia only to see she was looking straight ahead with her jaw set. Well, at least Clarke knew she didn't hold it against her.
They had gathered at the lake, all seated in a lazy circle on the dock.
She shook her head and tuned back in to what Bellamy was saying, "Okay, the first order of business is to come up with a team name. Any ideas?"
Everyone stood in silence for a few minutes, until Monty hesitantly raised his hand.
"Monty, right?" he nodded, "What cha got?"
"I was thinking The Prisoners, because The Skybox kind of sounds like a nickname or something for a prison."
"Okay, good. Any other ideas before we vote?"
A few other names were thrown out, including: The strippers (Thanks, Octavia.) The Chainsmokers. The Happy Hobos. And a few others that were just too horrible to mention.
"Is that all? Clarke, do you have anything" Bellamy asked.
"Well, I- uh- I really kind of liked Monty's idea of The Skybox being a prison type thing. But instead of The Prisoners, I was thinking, The Delinquents?" There was a general murmuring of agreement throughout the group.
"Okay, we still have to vote."
Clarke's idea won by a landslide. There wasn't a single vote for any of the other names.
"Okay, the Delinquents. Good. Now, for the rest of the day we're supposed to do trust building activities to make us a team. But I think that's a horrible idea. So we're going to play 'Catch the Killer'."
Octavia and Clarke's eyes lit up, they'd played this numerous times with Bellamy and his Friends.
"The rules are as follows, we draw cards and one person the Killer, and another is the sheriff, everyone else is just neutral. I have a camo body suit for whoever is the Killer, so it'll make it harder for the sheriff. The killer is supposed to go around and find people and come up quietly behind them and put a hand on their mouth, therefor killing them. But, if the Killer tries to kill the Sheriff but the sheriff is not the only one left alive, then the Sheriff have to play rock paper scissors, best two out of three. Also, if the sheriff finds the killer, then they can put their hand in the shape of a gun and put it up to the killers back, thus killing the killer and ending the game. And if you're neutral, then when or if you get 'killed', then you can either lay or sit on the ground, but you cannot speak to the Sheriff or the Killer if they try to talk to you. Everyone sort of understand?" everyone nodded. "Okay, if you don't know the woods, then stay with someone who does, but if you do, then you can't stay with any one person for more than two minutes." He pulled out small sheets of paper, "Okay, come draw your role."
Clarke was the third to draw, getting the Killer. She internally giggled gleefully. "Okay, head out guys."
Everyone turned around and headed off in opposite directions. Clarke decided to head off in sort of the same direction of Octavia, deciding to lose the camo-suit Bellamy had brought.
She followed her for five minutes before Octavia stopped to rest. She snuck up behind her, being mindful to not step on any leaves or twigs. She got right up behind her and carefully slipped a hand over her mouth, latching it on whenever Octavia started to struggle. When O calmed down, Clarke released her and let her turn around.
Octavia narrowed her eyes at her and flipped her off, while still having a playful expression on her face. Clarke winked at her before jogging off in a new direction through the woods.
She got Jasper and Monty at the same time, acting like she was putting her arms around their shoulders in side hugs but wrapping her arms around their heads and covering their mouths. They both started mutely cussing her out, mouthing the words and she had to fight not to bust out laughing.
Wells was easy, she just walked right up to him and covered his mouth, and he groaned and sat on the ground.
Now all she had left was Bell and Finn. She knew that one of them was the Sheriff, but not which. She found Finn first, following him for a while before walking up to him, "Hey, have you found anyone?"
He turned and his face brightened at seeing her, "Yea, I found Bellamy about twenty minutes in. He said he'd found Octavia, and that she'd already been killed. You?"
"I found Monty and Jasper about five minutes in, but we parted ways after two minutes, as the rules say, so I don't think it's either of them, any of the three of us could've killed the other two while we were with each other."
"Okay, so we're both safe, it's not Jasper or Monty, or Octavia. It's not me or you, so that just leaves Bellamy and Wells. I going to guess that Wells is the Killer and Bellamy is the sheriff."
"Oh, I had it in my mind that you were the sheriff."
He shook his head "Nah, I'm a neutral. I'm guessing you are too?"
She nodded.
Finn looked at her for a while before slowly walking up to her and trailing his hand up her arm, over her shoulder and up to cup her face, doing the same with the other hand. They stared into each other eyes before he started to lean in.
She saw her chance and she took it, she slowly reached her hand up and put it gently over his mouth, "dead." She whispered.
His eyes widened in recognition and he looked at her like she'd just killed a puppy. She laughed quietly and jogged off, looking back over her shoulder to see him sit down on the ground, looking thoroughly put out.
She slowed to a walk and started to look for Bellamy. It was just the two of them left. She'd have to play her next moves very carefully.
She turned around and walked deeper into the woods for a few minutes, before busting into a full sprint to the dock.
"Bellamy! BELLAMY!"
He stood up abruptly, looking around for the source of the screams. "Clarke what's wrong?"
She was breathing hard from her sprint, perfect. "It's Finn, I was just with him, he tried to put his hand on my mouth but I ran before he could, I think- I think I lost him."
"Not with those screams you didn't"
"What screams? I said your name, I didn't scream it."
He rolled his eyes, "Okay, Princess."
They stood by each other looking out at the woods until Bellamy spoke, "I heard a rumor."
She looked at him curiously, "A rumor? About who?"
"You."
Oh... Shit. "Oh, okay.? What about me did this rumor contain?"
"That you kissed Finn."
She felt her cheeks flare up, "Who told you?"
"So it's true?"
"Well, number one, it's none of your or whoever told you's business. And two, he kissed me."
He paused for a few moments, "Did you kiss him back?"
"Why do you care so much?" it was starting to sound like he had feelings for her, but she knew that that was insane. She knew he'd never think of her like that. She was too far gone into sisterhood.
He shrugged, "Just trying to figure out what you see in him."
She rolled her eyes, "Well for one he's not a massive dick."
He scoffed and Clarke swore she heard him mumble, "yeah, okay Princess."
She was starting to get aggravated, "What do you have against him?"
He stared off into the trees for a few moments. After shaking his head slightly, he turned to her and moved closer to her. So close that their noses were almost touching. "He's dating you." He whispered.
She felt her breath catch in her throat. Bellamy started to bring a hand up, she knew what was about to happen. She closed her eyes, waiting for his -.
She felt two of his fingers press lightly into the back of her shoulder blade, "Dead. He whispered.
She opened her eyes and he was walking backwards from her with a shit-eating grin on his face.
She was mortified. She had never been so embarrassed in her entire life. Without missing a beat, without even thinking, she walked up to him and pushed him off the dock and into the lake. And, before he could come up and see the tears streaming down her face, she turned around and ran.
She ran through the woods, eventually hearing Bellamy yell that the game was over and for everyone to meet back up at the lake. But still, she ran. She ran all the way back to the cabin, thanking whatever God there was that it was empty. She locked herself in and slouched against the door, sliding down it until she hit the floor.
She hugged her knees to her chest, letting her head drop on top, and she sobbed.
She was left alone for the better part of the day, eventually falling asleep in her bed. But she had woken up an hour, and her stomach was starting to growl. It was dark outside, she knew dinner must be soon. And finally, the inevitable knock at the door came.
"Clarke?" a voice asked hesitantly, Bellamy. "Um, I-uh. I know that you probably don't want to talk to me right now, but… Dinner's about to start, and-uh. We rarely have leftovers…" There was silence from both sides of the door. "Okay, I'll-uh. I'll get O to save you a plate."
She heard him walk away and, miraculously, she wasn't hungry anymore.
Another hour came and went before another, softer, knock came.
"Hey." Came Octavia's voice. "It's me, O… He-. He told me what happened and…. God, Clarke. I'm so sorry. I know what you were thinking and, and he, god he's so stupid, he thinks that you're pissed that he beat you, and that when you closed your eyes that you were admitting defeat. I'm sorry that I have a stupid brother, and I'm sorry that you think he's hot and I'm sorry that I've given you shit for it all these years, because God, I ship it like the freaking Mayflower." There was an envelope slid under the door, "and, - uh, Bell gave this to me. Said to give it to you since you probably didn't want to talk to him." The doorknob rattled, "Monroe made arrangements to stay at someone else's cabin, and I can stay with Bell if… if you want me too." There was silence for a few moments, "Also, I'm leaving a plate of food out here on the railing for you. Don't starve to death because you're pissed at Bellamy, please and thank you."
Clarke heard her footsteps go down the front porch steps and fade off into the distance.
She rolled out of the bed and went to the door, rubbing a hand over her eyes, trying to get the puffiness from the tears to go away.
She opened the door and bent down to grab the plate, there was a hot dog with ketchup, a bag of chips, and a cookie. She stood up and saw Bellamy sitting with his back against the railing.
She narrowed her eyes at him and went back inside, slamming the door after her. She heard him sigh and readjust. So she sighed and set down her plate on her bunk, going back to the door to get the letter that O had set under it.
It had her name written on it in a pretty handwriting she'd never seen before. She took a deep breath and walked back over to the bed, sitting down with her back against the wall and put the plate of food in her lap. Then she opened the letter.
Hey Princess,
I don't really know how to start this. I know that O has probably told you that I think that you're mad at me because I beat you. But I know that's not why.. Clarke, I heard your breath catch when I said I didn't like Finn because he was dating you. But, I need you to know something. I'm so, so very sorry Clarke. But I meant that totally 100% platonically. Actually, it isn't news to me that you're in love with me, I mean. Octavia told me a few years ago. It's no bigge. I mean, most girls I know end up liking me from one point to another. So-
She stopped reading. Correction, this is the most embarrassed she'd ever been before.
She stormed outside to where Bellamy was sitting with a hopeful expression on his face and glared at him, letter left inside on the bed.
"You asshole. You're a complete and total jerk!" He stood up quickly, a completely flummoxed expression on his face.
"Clarke, I-"
"NO. You don't get to talk. You've done enough talking in that." She pointed through the open door to the letter laying on her bed.
"You honestly thought that that's why I'm pissed? No. I'm pissed because you're full of yourself and thought that I could like someone like you." She jabbed a finger into his chest.
His face changed to something much more guarded and she saw the moment he put back up the façade that he usually hid behind. The cool man that couldn't get his feelings hurt and that thought he was the king of the world, she scoffed.
She changed her voice to something softer, "You know what, Bellamy? I actually did like you. I won't lie about that. But no, I'm not going to sit here and let you treat me like this. I'm going to talk to Jaha in the morning and I'm leaving as soon as fucking possible." She turned around and walked to the door, muttering a soft, "I hate you." Before slamming the door.
And then came the tears.
It wasn't an hour before Octavia was climbing in her bed next to her, holding her hand in between the two of them. "I'm sorry."
Clarke sniffed "You didn't do anything."
She shrugged, "Still, he's in relation to me, if he's not going to apologize, then I am. I'm sorry that I have a douche of a brother."
Clarke shrugged, "It's 'kay."
O shook her head, "No, it's not."
Clarke shook her head, "No, it's really not."
They fell asleep like that, curled around each other in Clarke's bed.
Octavia was gone when she woke. As was the letter that Bellamy had written. Clarke rolled her eyes, she was going to give it to Octavia anyway eventually. So she just shrugged it off.
She turned her attention to the door that had just been flung open, allowing her entire team (except Finn and Bellamy) to enter through.
She sat up in the bed with a roll of her eyes, but there was still a fond smile on her face. Idiots.
"Clarke! You can't leave! You're like, the coolest on our whole team!" Monty said, earning him a glare from Octvia.
She sighed, opening her mouth to speak, but Jasper beat her to it, "Yeah Clarke! Just because Bellamy's an ass," She shot a look at Octavia, who suddenly found the ceiling to be very intriguing, " doesn't mean that you have to leave the rest of us."
"Guys, I don't think you know just how much this means to me. It means a lot, but….. My summer has kind of been ruined by this. I just don't think that I would do as much good here anymore." She readjusted her position on the bed so the others could sit down. "Besides, that girl Raven might be even better than me!" She smiled.
They didn't take the bait, instead, they were all looking at the walls, the floor, anywhere but her. "What?"
"She got here an hour ago." Monty Mumbled.
She got up, grabbing a pair of jeans and looking for a shirt, "Well, then leave so I can get dressed and meet the girl, tell her to take after you guys." She ruffled Monty's hair, who didn't even crack a smile.
She was stopped by O's hand on her arm, she turned to the others who all saw the look she gave them and went outside, shutting the door softly behind them.
"O, what's going on?"
She sighed and walked Clarke backwards to her bed, pushing her down until she was sitting on it. She climbed on and sat on the other end.
"Octavia."
She pulled her lip in between her teeth, looking at the floor.
"ClarkeI'mReallySorryButFinnIsAMassiveJerkAndHeHasBeenCheatingOnThatRavenGirlAndI'mSorryBecauseFirstBellAndNowFinnAndI'mSoSorry-."
"What?" Clarke whispered. She had heard her just fine, but…. She had been on her way to loving him.
"I'm so sorry, Clarke." She whispered back.
Clarke shook her head, standing and walking over to her duffle bag, grabbing things at random and folding them neatly before shoving them in the bag. No tears came, she had put up a stone cold exterior.
After a few minutes, Octavia came over and laid her folded bed sheets and her pillow in the bag.
Clarke met her eyes and gave her a thankful smile, which she returned.
She, with the help of Octavia, finished packing all of her things within ten minutes.
Hand in hand, she slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out of the cabin with O. She hugged her cabin member's goodbye. She didn't know them much, but what little time that she'd spent with them, she'd thoroughly enjoyed. She had gotten Monty and Jaspers phone numbers, intending to hang out with them sometime, they lived the next town over.
She walked along the trail with Octavia, who guarded her from Finn when he started yelling things at her, pleading his case. Things like "I'm sorry!" and "I thought Raven had dumped me!" and other bullshit things.
They walked to the big house, where Jaha was. She turned and hugged Octavia, telling her to "call when you're back in town." They hugged again and Octavia the slow walk back to the cabin.
Clarke opened the door, seeing Jaha with his hand outstretched, as if to open the door. "Clarke? I was just about to come looking for you!" He said brightly.
Oh. "Why?"
"Why don't we step into my office and talk about it." He gave her a soft smile and led her down the hallway to his office.
She stepped inside and saw Bellamy leaning against a wall, his arms crossed against his chest.
"Look who was just outside, Mr. Blake! Perfect time this one has, if I do say so myself."
"Yeah, she's perfect." He spat. He wouldn't meet her eyes. He had bags under his eyes, he hadn't slept much either from the looks of things.
Jaha clasped his hands together, "Okay! SO, Clarke. We have some things to discuss. Why don't we sit?" She complied. "Now Clarke, I have some very bad news." His voice tuned serious.
"Late last night, your father… your father was in a car accident. He was hit by a drunk driver and died on impact. I'm… so very sorry Clarke. Jake was a great man."
She could feel the air leave her lungs. She could feel the last strands of happiness that she possessed leave her soul. She started crying softly, the tears falling only one at a time. She didn't sniff, she didn't make a noise. She was in shock.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up from her lap to lock onto a very familiar pair of brown eyes, almost exactly like her fathers were. "Clarke."
"What?" She whimpered, looking around. Jaha was no longer in the room, she must've spaced out for a few minutes.
He stood up raking a hand through his brown curls, "Jaha and I talked, and your mom is on her way." He was silent for a few moment, "I'm sorry that all of this has happened….. I meant what I said earlier. You don't deserve this." He took a few steps towards the door, "I'll…..see you around, okay?"
She nodded but he'd already left. She leaned forward, holding her head in her hands.
She should be crying, any normal person would be. Any normal person would be sobbing and throwing an absolute fit about the past two days that she's had to endure. But, Clarke Griffin was not normal. Her mother was, she was sure that her mother bawled her eyes out when she found out, she probably still was. Because her mother was the perfect Dr. Abby Griffin, who wanted her perfect Clarke to become a perfect doctor at some medical school that Clarke had never heard of.
Jake Griffin, however, just wanted Clarke to be Clarke. He didn't get mad when Clarke was four and drew on all of the walls. He didn't get angry when ten year old Clarke had a paint war with O in their front yard. He didn't even flinch when fifteen year old Clarke showed up at the house after a day spent with Octavia with bright blue hair. He understood her. He understood that Clarke didn't want to be a doctor, she wanted to be an artist. Octavia and Jake were the only two people that she'd confided this with. And Bellamy, but he'd just been in the room when she had told Octavia, so he didn't really count.
But now, Abby was all that Clarke had. She didn't have any aunts or uncles or cousins, and all of her grandparents had died when Clarke was young, the most recent being when she was seven.
She brought her head up to the sound of her mother's voice coming from down the hall. She stood up and pulled subconsciously at her t-shirt that she had put on over her pajama top. She knew that her mother would think her to be very presentable right now. Especially since it was nearing lunch and she still had on her sleep shorts.
Her mother walked in the room and stopped at the sight of her, looking her up and down. She could see the clear distaste on her face, but knew that her mother wouldn't bring it up until they were alone, since she didn't want to cause a scene.
Her mother walked up to her and enveloped her in her embrace, whispering "I'm so, so sorry, Clarke. I know how hard this must be for you." She wrapped her arms around her mother and hugged her back. As she already said, she was all she had left.
They walked outside and Clarke saw the old truck that Jake used to drive around. She turned to face Jaha, who was hugging her mother goodbye. They had gone to college together, he'd been the one to introduce her to Jake.
She turned out to look at the crest of the hill that led to the cabins, and was taken aback by what she saw. There were four people standing on the hill, one of them sitting with their arms on their knees.
She raised a hand in a weak wave, letting it drop when none of the four waved back.
She walked over to the truck and threw her bag in the bed, sliding in the passenger side just as Abby was starting it. Abby looked over at her, "You'll get through this Clarke, you can get through anything."
A/N- So, this was originally supposed to be finished by the S3 premier, but it's the day after, so sorry! But I hope that you like it! I'm planning on this to have three parts with an epilogue at the end, so stay tuned! Thanks for reading!